...because somewhere along the line I gave up the attempt at being perfect...

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Super Mommy from Blogland

You can probably tell by my blog introduction that I have been dwelling too much on my failures lately. My dear friend (who sells amazing baby slings, by the way) wrote an excellent post on the subject of improving herself, of trying to live up to an ideal that is floating around in her head of what kind of mother, wife, thinker, Christian she should be. While I am always happy to extend grace to others in this area, I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself. The thoughts have been paralyzing me these past few days, making me unable to do anything well. I am usually pretty good at avoiding mommy guilt. I actually hate how it keeps moms from really supporting each other. But this week has been different.

Unfortunately, all of the wonderful mommy blogs I read haven’t helped the situation. It’s not that any one blog makes me feel like a failure, but when I read too many at once, they all meld into one. I think every mom out there homesteads, bakes bread, runs a business from home, homeschools, writes novels, volunteers in her church, sews her own clothes, and repairs her own car, all while carrying a newborn in a sling and a toddler on her back. I know we women are good a multitasking, but no one is the Super Mommy from Blogland who has somehow come to life in my mind.

In fact, I think that the mommy blog phenomenon has actually helped us in many ways. Instead of looking around at all the other moms and feeling guilty about how bad we are at this parenting thing, we get a glimpse into each other’s lives. We learn that we all have weaknesses. We learn that there are many ways to be a good mommy. We share our tricks of the trade. We are fighting mommy guilt one blog post at a time, all while painting our house, baking a dozen pies, teaching our kindergartner piano, nursing a newborn and cooking our husband’s favorite meal!

1 comment:

hi there, yeah, it's hard to fight mommy guilt. but we gotta! and we have to remember that blogs are certainly not reflective of one's entire life. when i first started blogging, i was wanting so badly to break out of my complainy state of mind and heart. so writing the blog has been an exercise in thankfulness, a place to reflect, a place write whatever i want to.

for some it's a helpful place to vent. those can be helpful for me to read at times. for me that hasn't helped my struggling heart. and if i have a few extra during the day to blog, i find it refreshing to write the good or funny stuff. but DEFINITELY don't think the beautiful moments that sometimes get written about on my blog are the only things during my day for sure! there is lots of whining and hitting around here!

all that to say, be confident with your own voice, say what you want or need to say. and be fine with that and log off!